Domestic Relations -- 1962 Tennessee Survey

The case of Folk v. Folk' dealt with a long-continued domestic dispute in which the husband sought unsuccessfully to terminate a separate maintenance decree. The litigation had begun in 1954 as a divorce suit by the wife. Although her prayer for divorce had been denied, she had been allowed separate maintenance from her husband because of his mistreatment of her. The chancellor in that action had provided that the separate maintenance payments should continue unless the wife should unreasonably reject a sincere attempt at reconciliation by the husband.

The court of appeals had stricken this portion of the decree but had held that if the husband should seek to discontinue the payments in the future, the chancellor should consider his petition in the light of all of the circumstances at that time.This opinion of the court of appeals was rendered in April 1958.